Ghagra choli

Ghagra choli (also known as lehenga choli and chaniya choli) is a type of skirt and blouse pair of ethnic clothing for women from India, notably in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and southern Nepal in Terai plains. In Punjab, the lehenga is traditionally worn with a kurti. It is a combination of the ghagra or lehenga (long skirt) and the choli (blouse). In contemporary and modern usage lehenga choli is the widely used term by fashion designers, trend setters, and boutiques in India, since ghagra is synonymous with the half-slip (petticoat) worn as an undergarment below the sari.

Historically, the gagra choli evolved from the three-piece attire worn by women in ancient India. The attire consisted of the antriya lower garment, the uttariya veil worn over the shoulder or head and stanapatta a chest band, which is mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century B.C.

A choli, (ravike in South India Telugu: రవికె, Kannada: ರವಿಕೆ) is a midriff-baring blouse commonly worn with a sari attire (worn in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and other surrounding countries). It evolved from the ancient Stanapatta (also known as Kanchuki) and is cut to fit tightly around the body with its short sleeves and low neck. The choli is usually cropped, allowing exposure of the navel; the cropped design is particularly well suited to wear in the hot summers of the Indian subcontinent.

Lehenga, gagra/ghagra (Hindi: ghāghrā) also chaniya (known as pavadai in Tamil: பாவாடை) is a form of skirt that is long, embroidered and pleated. It is secured at the waist or hips and leaves the lower back and midriff bare. The ancient version of skirt or ghagri evolved from bhairnivasani, which in turn evolved from the antriya when stitching on one side became tubular and was worn gathered together at the waist, and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a clumsily stitched skirt. It was worn using a nada or drawstring. The ghagri was a narrow skirt 6 feet (1.8 m) long—the same length as the original antriya—and can still be seen worn by Jain nuns in India.

Until the early 20th century, women irrespective of class largely wore gagras that reached down to ankles, especially in the Hindi belt. This was largely due to jeweled toes indicating the marital status of women, as both married and unmarried women observed the ghoonghat veil. Gagras were made out of two to three layers of coarse khadi fabric which created the large flared look and remained largely plain but were decorated with gota and badla embroidery on special occasions. Most commonly used dyes were indigo, lac and turmeric. This style can still be seen in rural areas of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar & Madhya Pradesh particularly during folk festivals.

The dupatta (also known as chunni, chunri, or odni) is a scarf that is like a shawl and is worn with the gagra and choli. It is also used as part of the women's shalwar kameez costume. It is an evolved form of the Uttariya. Until the early 21st century, the dupatta was the most decorative part of gagra choli, while the rest of the garment was plainer, especially if the gagra was an everyday one. Dupatta is worn in many regional styles across India. The most common style since early medieval times was to pleat the dupatta on one end, so it could be anchored by tucking it into the front waist of the gagra. The loose end is then wrapped across the waist and/or draped diagonally across the upper body to fall over the shoulder, or up and over to cover the head. This is similar to the way a sari is generally worn. Women farming or doing manual work tuck both ends of the dupatta into their choli.

The dupatta is traditionally seen as a symbol of modesty, as its main purpose is to serve as a veil. There is no single way of wearing it, so as time passed and fashion changed, the styling of the dupatta also evolved.

The Ghagri-Choli are made of a number of fabrics such as silk, cotton, khadi, georgette, crape, net, satin, brocade and chiffon. Although designers have successfully used various fabrics for lehenga, silk is still the preferred fabric.